The Wheel of Fortune
by Moth Gypsy
Summary: KuramaYomi. A story in three parts, spanning a thousand years. Kindness is more imprtant than strength, but much more difficult to obtain.
1. Of Meetings

Title: The Wheel of Fortune

Warnings: BL, yaoi, probably a lemon later, violence, mild language, perhaps disturbing themes, and liberal use of the mysterious nature of Kurama's character x]  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters or plot elements.

[A/n:] I've been constructing this story in my head for several years now, and Im just now writing it. Unlike my other failed stories, this one has an in-depth [five frikken pages] outline, from start to end. So whether I have inspiration or not, theres no excuse for abandonment xD I even have ideas for a short sequel, but that might just end up as an epilogue.

I have no idea how long this is going to be, just long. The time line covers the entire series, from the point when Kurama first meets Yomi, to their departure from Yusuke's tournament. However, the story will focus mainly on Kurama and Yomi, and Ive added a lot of my own plot elements, so much so that it can probably be considered an AU.

I know this first chapter is ridiculously short, I started writing late and Im all out of Root Beer. So xD expect an update soon, and longer than the beginning (consider this my motivator, cause if I leave it on my desktop I might never pick it up again).

-

In the demon world the days are just a bit longer. A few more hours of sunlight, and a few more hours of darkness. All the same, it makes for much longer years.

-

He bent over to examine the ground, fingers brushing lightly against dirt and moss. He straightened, took in a sharp overview of the area, and signaled for the men to follow. Youko Kurama was suspicious.

They had been traveling for a day and a half, after being forced to move camp because of the seasons. The men grumbled and complained, could not yet sense the change in the atmosphere. But Kurama could feel it, the subtle hints that meant the rains were coming. So, they were moving. "Stay ahead of the weather. If you cannot control it, then work with it." he'd said.

Although he offered them words of wisdom, taught his trade now like he were a dying master, there was coldness in his glances, and mostly only disapproval.

And they were being followed.

Whoever was tracking them was clever enough to stay ahead, rather than behind. Of course, it was only natural that anyone in their way would stand to the side, but it weren't as if they were waving flags and banners. To the contrary, they moved with relative quiet. And despite the quantity of travelers, they left few traces to follow. Their tracker was ahead of them, letting them advance just far enough to be sure of their position, and then retreating and locating them again.

So far Kurama was the only one to notice, and he had considered using the situation as a lesson. For the moment though he was waiting. The tracker was clever, but not very good. An amateur, probably a lower class demon with out much more skill than one of the bandits now making up Kurama's gang.

At night they made camp in the forest. Small below ground fires were started, tents pitched, and out came the dried meats. Scouts on the ground and up in the branches of trees kept watch and reported to their higher ups, who reported to Kurama. It was a secure system that he ran, albeit simple. "Don't over complicate things if they can be kept simple. A simple strategy is manageable, and a manageable strategy wins the game."

They drank his words up like an elixir, as though they were the secret to immortality. Funny thing is, he didn't abide by them himself. At least, he never told them anything about cheating. And Youko Kurama loved to cheat.

There was a commotion in the distance, too far away to understand, but close enough to set off alarms. In a upheaval of the quietude the men rushed towards the trouble, and towards him, shouting commands and questions and curses all at once. Kurama rose from his spot on the ground to meet one of the scouts that came running towards him, panting and bright eyed. "Sir, an intruder has attacked our men, Renguile is dead, and at least two others before him."

"I see. What would you gauge the intruder's level to be?"

"D, most likely. Maybe lower C. He wielded a blade."

"Organize the men here, prepare a holding cell. I'll deal with this." His mind reached out to the plants around him, easily locating the source of trouble. Male, young, weak. And yet somehow interesting. He leapt lightly into the trees, moving swiftly and with ease towards the point of irritation. He could feel it through the plant life, and angry aura that seared the tips of the poison oak and curled the fronds of the ferns. Unlike people, the auras of plants connect in an abstract grid, melding into one giant network energy. And plant energy is very strong; it is simple and does not involve itself with things like emotions or greed, or violence.

A few drops of blood on a branch, torn clothing. A body in the bramble and only a few paces ahead of him a seething, red aura. Kurama dropped to the ground, feet landing in soft moss and hair drifting for a moment to obscure his face. There was only one being around, his men were now searching in the completely wrong area.

"Who are you? And why have you been following me?" No curiosity gleamed in his voice now, only a cautious warning. And a demand.

Stepping through the trees with a heavily confidant stride, a young demon met Kurama's glare with a wide smile and casual posture. "I've heard a lot about you, Youko Kurama. The greatest thief who ever lived, I am in awe, and you are so much more than what the stories told. I am Yomi, and I'd like to be your second in command."

-


	2. Of Limitations

MG: Uwei!~D: so I wanted to keep writing this chapter, but I felt that it was good place to leave off. Thank you so much to my one reviewer! 3 xD Oh, and the events of this chapter were inspired by an experience I had in an airport once [so sorry if its boring and frustrating Dx there will soon be wonderful Kurama-y goodness~]

-

In the Demon World things like thievery, murder, and slander are thought of as normal practices. For a person to be hunted down for such behaviors would be considered absurd. Therefore, for a man to become a wanted criminal, his crimes must be considerable.

-

Yomi waited in silence as Kurama took him in. The fox demon appeared to be considering his words, sizing him up, but it was hard to tell. Something inside of him whispered that the fox had already made up his mind, the second that he laid eyes on him. Yomi's back prickled, the hairs on his neck standing on end. _"Who are you? And why have you been following me?"_

"You wish to join my band?" Kurama said, eyes locking onto his. It wasn't so much a question as an opportunity to prove himself.

"Yes," Yomi said, "I have talents which you would find useful, I've killed many men and am skilled with a blade, I can steal and learn quickly." _And lie and cheat,_ he thought, but didn't say, because those particular talents he figured he could still use to his advantage, without the fox knowing.

There was shouting in the distance and the rustle of leaves. For a moment Yomi thought that he'd made a mistake, that he would end up fighting for his life in the middle of this unnamed forest, but then Kurama turned with a small motion of his head, meant as a signal of approval, and was stalking back toward the camp. Yomi felt that he was meant to trail behind, and indignantly caught up to the fox to pace at his side. Kurama didn't spare him even a glance, only kept walking in the direction of the noise.

When they came across the first men he thought that a fight really would break out, but the fox calmed them with a motion of his hand and gave them orders to usurp control of the situation. Before long they were in an enclosure of tents and clothes lines and small fires lighting the area. A young man with a baby face stood quickly to great them.

"Take care of him, will you?"

That was all that Kurama said before Yomi was being scooted along through the maze. As the men returned he expected questions, he was already formulating clever answers in his mind, after all, Youko Kurama had accepted him. But no questions came. Those who he passed gave him quick glances and then looked away and went about their business. He wondered if maybe they weren't allowed to speak. Or maybe, he wondered if somehow the fox had already known that he would be joining them, and told his men to act coldly, to break his spirit. But Yomi decided that that was unlikely. The fox may have been clever, but not that clever. It was probably just their nature, it was late anyways.

The young man stopped them at what appeared to be a supplies tent. He opened the flap and motioned for Yomi to enter, dropping the flap behind them. Inside was perfectly dark, but after a second he heard a match striking and the young man set down an oil lamp on one of the many stacks of rolled burlap.

"My name is Yomi, I'm a thief and a vagabond." He held out his hand and tried to hold himself highly.

The young man glanced over, licked his lips in what seemed to be an unconscious habit, and said "Oh, I'm Angel. I mean, that's not my name, but that's what everyone calls me." He glanced nervously at the offered hand and then turned to rummaged through the stacks of bags and blankets.

Yomi's mouth pulled into a thin line and he lowered his hand. He decided then that he didn't like Angel, and that the more of a boy young man was too weak to be a part of Youko's infamous gang. The oilight made everything a warm yellow color, and the shadows swayed gently against the tent walls. Everything smelled orderly, like fresh leather and parchments and ink. The boy turned back to him with a bundle in his arms, a heavy blanket and clothes, and handed them to Yomi.

"Those are for you. You have to wear them here." He blew out the lamp and they exited. After traveling deeper into the camp Angel stopped and talked to an unimportant looking pair of men. He explained the situation, and then told Yomi to follow them. They led him to a tent large enough to fit several other bedrolls and told him that he'd be sleeping there. He meant to tell them his name, but before he could they were heading back through the gloom and firelight.

He felt cheated. These lowlifes, who were obviously weaker than himself, were treating him like a weaker being, or worse, a child. And Kurama hadn't said anything about his proposition for second in command. Yomi used his boot to shove aside one of the bedrolls and lay out his own, quickly stripping off his clothes in favor of the white pants, toga, and sash that were customary. They fit him strangely, longer and looser than what he was used to, and the boy neglected to provide him with the matching white flats that everyone seemed to wear. He scowled and thought about going back to the supply tent to find some, but upon exiting decided that he'd rather mingle for awhile.

Men stood in pairs and sometimes sat in groups around fires, some walking purposefully about, others chatting and laughing quietly with each other. He was headed towards one such group when a pair walked past him, stopped, turned back and grabbed him by an arm.

"What are you doing by yourself?" A man with green eyes and horns asked.

"I was walking, is that not allowed?" Yomi asked crossly, his arm tense in the other man's grip.

The man frowned at him and let go. "No, it's not. Weren't you assigned a partner?"

He balked at the ridiculousness of such a rule, was this not the greatest gang of thieves of the century? And he was really supposed to have a partner to walk him around the camp at night?

"We travel in pairs and rely on our partners. That way we are never left to our own devices. If you weren't assigned a partner then you'll have to stick with a group for now."

"I have a tent." He gestured to the tent where his things were left.

"Ah," the man said, as though that explained everything, and he crossed his arms thoughtfully. "That's Brom's group, they'll be out hunting at the moment. But they already have an extra with them. Did you really fit your bed into there?"

"Yes," Yomi said defensively, remembering the way he shoved someone else's aside to make room for his own.

"Well. I suppose they could partner you with their extra, but I doubt that there'll be room enough for both of you. And besides, it would probably only be temporary."

When Yomi didn't seem to comprehend, the other man piped in. He had darker eyes and no special appendages, but there was a calm control to him that suggested he was much older than one might think. "Each pair is carefully chosen, your partner needs to be someone that you not only get along with personally, but with whom your skills compliment."

"Oh." This was not what he signed up for. This wasn't anything like what he expected. But when he thought about, Yomi concluded that he hadn't expected anything specific. He'd only been thinking about the excitement of the heist, about the fame and renown, and of course about what Kurama would look like. The last, at least, had not been a disappointment. "I see."

The green man was over at the tent, poking his head inside, and then he looked back at them and grimaced and called them over. "This won't do, who put you here?"

Yomi started to answer, but he was cut off, "Oh, never mind who, just pack up your things and follow us. Surely there is somewhere else that you'll fit."

So he rolled up his bed with the clothes inside and lagged along behind the green man and the dark eyed man. They led him along the outskirts of the camp and back through a winding ally of tents and tree limbs and hanging clothes and blankets and what in the darkness appeared to be dried meats. Neither of them spoke, and Yomi silently appraised the size of the encampment. It was difficult to tell, but he guessed that there were roughly a hundred men, with an average of six men per tent. That meant about twenty tents, extras for supplies and loot. Occasionally he thought he caught glimpses inside of tents that were filled with nothing but flowering plants.

"So, what sort of jobs do you do?" He ventured tentatively. If he seemed timid though, it was only an act. Yomi figured that if he really must move up in the ranks the old fashioned way, he might as well do it quickly. And so far it didn't seem like he was going to learn anything without asking, and somehow he got the feeling that his questions weren't exactly welcome.

"Hmm?" The green man looked back at him. "Oh, all sorts of things. We never really know what Kurama will come up with. You know, lots of odd jobs, and we travel a lot, so it's interesting to learn about the different regions." Then he was silent, as though there was nothing else to be said on the subject.

Grinding his teeth, Yomi decided that he didn't like these men, either, and that as soon as he was second in command he would do away with them. Didn't Kurama realize just how useless so many of his comrades were?

They stopped intermittently to look into tents, questioning here and there about extra space. Apparently, they were in need of an altogether extra tent. "Well," the green man said, "I really don't know what to do about this-" Yomi's mouth pulled into a long, thin line "-so here is Kurama's place, you can explain to him and I'm sure he'll figure something out." With that, Yomi was left standing in front of a brown tent, just the same as any of the others. He wondered if they had tricked him and left him with someone else, but then he heard an unmistakable voice from inside.

"Come in."

-

-


End file.
